Magic In Our Stars
by Ugliness.Subdued
Summary: A shining new era is about to be born for the Federation, And the USS Albion is the ship to lead it into it.The Merlin cast as the crew of a Federation star ship. Please Read and Review! this is SLASH. Merthur and Gwen/Lancelot
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue: Man the Sails.**

_Chime. _

The chime to the captain's ready room cut through the still air of the quiet room, disturbing the blonde captain sitting behind the desk. He looked up from his padd, throwing it across the table as he stood up pulling down his uniform jacket like Picard and smoothing down his blonde hair.

"Come in." He called as he walked over to the replicator. The door slid open with a hiss revealing a tall female figure wearing the red uniform of command; she was tall with a pale ivory complexion her dark hair pulled back into a tight braid. A smirk started to play on her bright red lips and she took in his state of drowsiness.

"Ah, Commander what can I do for you? Coffee, Black." He asked as he ordered his coffee from the replicator.

"Careful _Captain_ too much Coffee and you're going to turn into Admiral Janeway." She chuckled as she sat down on the bench near the window looking out onto the stars and bellow to the earth." I can't wait to get out of space dock; I can't help but see space dock as a bad thing. Nothing should be able to hold in a star ship like this." She sighed as she tapped the padd she had brought with her against the window.

"Careful Morgana, too much wisdom and you might turn into Captain Picard." He teased as he handed her a cup of her normal tea.

"So I just got a communication from Star Fleet, Apparently the rest of your Senior Staff is set to arrive tomorrow." She said handing over the padd to him as she started to sip her tea still staring out the window.

"You would think that I just ordered a shipment of robots on how well, robotic this report is!" He scoffed until he got to the end of the report," Oh well at least that explains it, It was written by Admiral Daddy." He sighed as he tossed it back to Morgana.

"Oh what does he _want_? I mean really, Morgana Lefay, First Officer of the New USS Albion and you! Arthur Pendragon _Captain_ or the USS Albion! What more does he want from us!" Morgana finished with a shout banging the window.

"For you to get anger management lessons maybe?" He dead panned as he took her mug from her putting them both back underneath the replicator watching them turn back in molecules. "So, who is my new Senior Staff? Anyone good?"

"Two words. Leon. Knight. Very good." She purred a full blown smirk on her red lips.

"Oh god, stand down commander, no need to scare the pore man, but really Leon? Haven't seen him since, oh what was it, the fencing tournament When He was just a Lieutenant, and me a Lieutenant Commander?"

"That's the one; And Lance Du Lac is going to be our chief engineer? Isn't that great? You two became good friends until Admiral Daddy came and screwed it up? He is a Commander now too did you know?"

"Really? Man this is just going to be a big family reunion isn't it? And let me guess Gaius Magister is our doctor?" He asked with a grin sitting down cross-legged in his new chair.

"Right in one." She grinned coming to sit across the desk from him laughing as his jaw dropped open.

"You're kidding! That old El-Aurian came out of retirement? Admiral Daddy must have requested him personally!" He grinned as he felt excitement build up in him at the thought old Gaius being in charge of his ships health, which gave him a bit more faith in their upcoming mission. "So I who's going to be on OP's?"

"Gwaine Green? Remember the bajoran with the human name? Would flirt with a tree if it moved and breathed for long enough?"

"Ahh yes, and I've always wondered and of course you know everything-"

"Yes I do."

"Then you should know why he has a human name when he is bajoran?"

"His Father died in an accident on a star ship and his mother could no longer support him so he sent him when he was quite young to a family of human friends living on Deep Space Nine and they changed his name to a human name after they got him." She said finishing off the story with a huff as if she disagreed with the mother and what she did.

"Sometimes I wonder if you stalk people and research their entire life before you allow them to serve under me and you." He mumbled as he signaled her to tell her the rest of the crew.

"Oh and we have two ensigns as well joining our ranks."

"Well of course Star Ships do need people who actually do work."

"Well one of our Ensigns is our new counselor, Guinevere 'Gwen' Thomas, a Half Betazoid, apparently she graduated with excellent marks, so they gave her this posting."

"Lovely, just what I need on my first command, someone beaming themselves into my soul." He sighed as he ruffled his hair obviously contemplating all the bad things about getting a Betazoid counselor.

"Oh if you think that's bad than I'm pretty sure you're going to go through the roof when you hear who your new Science Officer is." She smirked as she scrolled down the padd.

"Oh god, who is it?"

"A new Ensign just graduated from Star Fleet."

"_Morgana_." He growled leaning forward onto the table leaning toward Morgana.

"He graduated top of his class, he is extremely smart, a genius even. A lot of ships tried to get them for themselves; I know Captain Morgause tried to snatch him up for one." She smirked obviously drawing it out.

"Morgana Lefay who is my new science officer?" He whispered

"Merlin Emrys, half Human, half Romulan."

§ Author's Note §

So I started this story in my head about a few days ago after reading the Merlin AU story slightly similar to this one. And I loved the idea of a star ship crew of the Merlin Cast. I'm hoping to start posting the next few chapters here soon, although it's almost near the end of the second quarter for my school and my teachers may start telling me Exams are more important the fan fiction. Pssh ya right.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One: ****We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.**

"It has come to my attention in my brief time as a ships' Counselor is that new officers do not want to be told, 'No, your new CO is not a Romulan in disguise.' Or 'No, that asteroid is not hiding a Klingon battle fleet.' No they want to imagine the worst situations possible; I think it gives them a strange perverse comfort. This situation is even worse with a certain half Romulan ensign, he seems to think because he is so young, and very half Romulan, every Admiral is staring at him for one mistake. Though of course this is a foolish notion because of course he is going to do great, but at the moment his nervousness is so strong I don't even need to be an half Betazoid to know this, end Counselors' personal log." Guinevere 'Gwen' Thomas finished as she heard a certain ensign coming in the transport shuttle's small bridge.

"Were you talking about me in one of your silly counselors' logs?" said the ensign as he plopped down in his chair next to her playing with the hem of his blue uniform.

"Of course not Merlin, why would I do that?" She flushed and she turned to the console tapping in a small course correction.

"Because I'm a nervous wreck?" He dead panned as he ran his long pale fingers through his messy black hair.

"Really Merlin if anyone should be nervous it should be me! I'm about to become Counselor for nearly a thousand people!"

"If that's going to be how you comfort people, by laying all your guilt on them, I suggest you try for a position."

"Oh be quite Merlin." She blushed as she left him to the helm, his bright laugh following her as she went to her bunk.

Captain Pendragon and Commander Lefay were both rather menacing figures to scared new ensigns. The captain was a tall man with lightly tanned skin and a broad chest and light gold hair and light blue eyes, looking rather dashing in the red command uniform, the four gold pips shining on his neck. Commander Lefay was not much better either, her complexion shining a pale white in the light of the shuttle bay her dark hair pulled back into a tight braid looking just as dashing as her CO in the red command uniform.

Well if they didn't make you feel self conscious who the _hell _would?

Ensign Merlin Emrys was suddenly very aware of how he looked, him tall and lanky his skin pale and messy black hair in a sort of rendition of a Vulcan hair cut*, his blue eyes probably smudged from his lack of sleep, and his every present pointy ears. He fiddled with his fingers behind his back and he felt their keen eyes on him and they examined him and his fellow ensigns.

"Welcome to the USS _Albion_, Sovereign class, the most technologically advanced ship in the fleet, well besides the _Enterprise_." The captain grumbled at the end as if he thought it was an abomination the _Enterprise_ had the gale to be more impressive than the _Albion_, and Merlin had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing.

"Now look, you are here because Star Fleet believes you to be the best Ensigns they have to offer, and I am expecting you to live up to those expectations." He gave us another sweeping glare with his eyes, "Understood?"

"Understood!" The ensigns chorused back.

"Now Commander Lefay will brief you all on our mission, Ensigns Emrys and Thomas if you will come with me to my ready room? You need to meet a few people." Gwen and I shared a suffering glance from behind the Captain's back as they walked out of the shuttle bay behind him.

We walked onto the bridge as the turbo lift door closed behind them with a hiss; Gwen and I were floored with awe as we looked out onto the new bridge. The shining new metal reflected the light from the new consoles reflecting back into the ensigns eyes. The bridge was empty except for a man at the Tactical station, He was tall and well muscled, his semi long orange hair pushed behind his hair, he also had a ginger beard, and he wore the yellow uniform of security the three pips of a Lieutenant Commander on his throat. His face light up in a smile as he noticed the wide eyed Ensigns staring at the bridge in wonder.

"Ah Leon just the man I was looking for, this is Counselor Thomas and Ensign Emrys, Counselor, Ensign, This is Lieutenant Commander Leon Knight." Captain Pendragon lightened up as he leaned up against the Tactical station.

"It's nice to meet you Commander Knight, Ensign Emrys." He stepped forward to him with a smile on his face, holding his long hand to him.

"Oh yes, are you the half Romulan we have heard so much about?" He smiled kindly, although his eyes started to stare at Merlin's ears, just as Gwen started to notice his discomfort the Com beeped on the bridge.

"Doctor Magister to the bridge."

"Captain Pendragon here."

"I hear there's a skinny Romulan Ensign on that bridge of yours, send him down to me for his physical, he skipped out of his down at the academy before he came aboard." Said the old voice of the El-Aurian as it floated down from the com as Merlin turned an interesting shade of green as his face flushed.

"Um well, I, err, guess, I mean, I need to go see the doctor than." Mumbled Merlin as his face flushed an even darker green as he backed up to the turbo lift and left the bridge.

"Oh, yes, He is going to be fun to have on board." Chuckled Leon as he turned back to his Tactical systems check.

There are many daunting things in this universe, a Borg ship for example maybe? But that does not compare to the daunting doors that have that dreaded word printed on them.

Sick Bay.

Merlin took a deep breath straitening his shoulders and tugging down his uniform top and letting out the deep breath he had taken in.

'Alright, I can do this, nothing to be afraid of!' He thought to himself as his finger strayed over to the button to open the door. He clenched his eyes shut tight and the doors in front of him opened with a hiss.

"Merlin? Is that you Boy?" Gaius called as he stepped out of his office looking around for the person entering Sick Bay.

"Of course it's me Gaius, really who would come into your Sick Bay willingly?" He chuckled as he hopped onto one of the Bio beds absently playing with the tips of one of his Romulan ears.

"Half Romulan Ensigns whose' Mothers will hunt them down with a Klingon battle fleet to tell them to get their flu shots." Gaius said as he raised one of his eye brows in the Vulcan fashion that it made Merlin squirm remembering old Vulcan teachers at the academy who looked more inclined to study him in a lab than to teach his Temporal Theory. The bleeping of a medical Tricorder brought him out of his memories; he tried to follow the Tricorder's scanner with his eyes.

"You'll go cross eyed." Gaius mumbled sparing an exasperated look before turning back to his scans. "Well as half Humans half Romulans go you're perfectly normal." Merlin stopped suddenly rubbing his ear and stared into Gaius's old and ancient eyes, and before he could help it he blurted something he had wanted to ask the old man for awhile now.

"I'm not a Monster am I?" Gaius's ancient eyes shot up onto Merlin's fair angular face.

"Don't ever think that Merlin." He said forcefully as he snapped his Tricorder shut. "Now go visit engineering, go familiarize yourself with your new home."

Lance Du Lac considered himself a rather proficient engineer; He was quite prepared to be the Chief Engineer on the USS _Albion_. At least he thought so. Admiral Uther Pendragon had been completely against his posting on the _Albion_, but success spoke much more loudly than just one Admiral. He was typing away at one of the new luminescent consoles when he heard the main doors to engineering opening with a hiss. He turned around seeing a very skinny pale boy with messy black hair resembling something close to a Vulcan haircut, his bright blue eyes taking in everything he could see, his ears going off into a point. He cleared his throat gaining the Boy's attention away from the Warp Core and saw a light green blush go across his cheeks at being caught staring at the Warp Core like a little kid in the candy shop.

"Um, Hello I'm Ensign Merlin Emrys, I'm sorry if I'm in the way, but Gaius told me I should go and explore the ship." The boy stumbled and blushed as he held out a long fingered hand out to him to be shaken.

"Commander Lance Du Lac, It's nice to meet you." He smiled his dark gaze reassuring, as Merlin smiled back.

"You're the Chief Engineer isn't that right? I'm the new Science Officer, so I don't guess we'll be seeing much of each other." Merlin shrugged as his gaze went back to the Warp Core after releasing his hand.

"Oh I don't know the Chief Engineer does have a station on the bridge, so we will see each other unless you plan on hiding from me?" He laughed a smile tugging on the corners of his lips.

"Oh no of course not, at least I'm not planning on it, should I?" He grinned with me crinkling up his eyes. I joined his laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well come on Merlin there's more to engineering than just the warp core and I've been dying to give _someone _a tour." He grinned as he pulled the Ensign along behind him

He and Lance had gone to the galley after that, both hungry, and Merlin could only take so much Warp Core Theory on an empty stomach.

"Anyone sitting here?" A male's voice suddenly intoned from above them. A Bajoran male stood their clad in a yellow uniform the pips of a lieutenant on his neck, Lance's face suddenly light up in remembrance as he leapt up.

"Gwaine! It's been far too long mate! And you're a Lieutenant now?" He laughed as he and Gwaine had a one armed hug as they sat down at the table not noticing a bewildered Merlin.

"Ahh Lance but of course they had to! How could they not notice my success in Star Fleet?" He grinned as he flipped his hair back. "And now really Lance, where are your manners? Aren't you going to introduce me to this beauty you corned into sitting with you?" He blushed green as Gwaine flashed a rather disarming grin.

"Stop it Gwaine, This is Ensign Merlin Emrys." Lance introduced as Gwaine extended his hand.

"So what were you fine Star Fleet officers talking about?" Gwaine asked gulping down half of his drink.

"Oh, Lance and I were just talking about our mission." He said fiddling with the handle of his tea cup.

"Ah yes our Intrepid journey through the stars."

"So what do you think about it?" I prompted sipping my tea.

"Oh me? I wouldn't have missed this for the world." He smiled gulping down the last of his drink

§Authors' Note§

_Hello again my lovelies, And now I just have to thank all of you who reviewed or put this story on your story alert! Eight reviews for my first humble little chapter. Ahh! I'm gushing with joy I am! I'm going to start posting these chapters more and more now that I've finished my English Essay._

_*Merlin's hair cut is what it was like in the first and first part of the second season. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: The Expert at Respect.**

Falling asleep on a star ship after spending most of your life falling asleep in a house on Vulcan can be well, sort of unpleasant.

Especially when you have much stronger hearing than any of those silly humans that designed this ship to be so _loud._

Merlin groaned flipping around in his new bed in his new noisy, noisy quarters, was about ready to storm down to engineering and shot the damn warp core for being this noisy. Luckily He had lived on Vulcan for a major part of his life and no matter how alien they made him seem at least they thought good restraint, and good meditation techniques that help him fall asleep in bad noisy ships.

Luckily with those Vulcan techniques he was asleep in ten minutes, not realizing he had outside help in falling so quickly asleep.

**§O§ **

_I was asleep, why am I awake? _

_Merlin._

_Who are you? Where are you? _

_Merlin. _

_Stop this! God just let me go back to sleep. _

_Merlin, Merlin you must…_

_I must what? Oh great, I'm listening to a creepy dream voice now. _

_Merlin you must listen, you must watch. _

_Watch? Listen? I am listening! And how can I watch when I can't see you? _

_Merlin…._

**§O§ **

"Gah!" Waking up brutally Merlin shot out of bed in a cold sweat drenching his forehead and back. Wiping a fast paced hand across his forehead and his eyes he staggered to his feet grabbing his uniforms trousers and pulling them on, opting for a grey t-shirt instead of the normal uniform top. Stumbling to the door he checked the time, placing a hand on his forehead trying to make the head ache go away.

"Computer what is the time?"

"The time is 0450 hours." The cold female voice of the computer intoned. Scrubbing his hand over his eyes once again, than casting them upward praying for patience for being woken up so early.

"Ugh, Computer where is Doctor Magister?" He whispered resting his head on the Com panel.

"Doctor Magister is in Sick Bay."

"Oh of course he is." He sighed before opening the door, before reeling back from a bright white void outside of his door.

"What the Hell?" He yelled stumbling back into his room to find it gone, replaced by the white void.

'_I'm dreaming! I must be!' _ He thought hurriedly, his blue eyes flickering every which way.

"Now, now young Romulan, your years among the humans have not diminished your wits have they? Really, you haven't even spent that long among them."A baritone voice chuckled from behind him making him jump and turn around. A tall male humanoid figure was standing behind him resting on what looked like a large ornamental throne made of stone. He was tall about two and a half meters tall, large golden eyes and a sort of golden brown scales that covered his entire body. He wore black flowing robes that covered his feet and that nearly covered his hands.

"What are you?" He cautioned as he got to his feet again suddenly more worried than he was before.

"I am a Draakoin, my name Is Kilgharrah" Kilgharrah said, puffing up his chest.

"I've never heard of a Draakoin."

"Yes well, you haven't heard of a lot of things, but I must fight the few battles that are worth fighting eh?" He chuckled rearranging himself on the chair as Merlin raised an angled eyebrow at him.

"What do you want? I don't think you popped in just to say you want to be my new best friend, hmm?"

"I came to inform of your destiny, young Romulan. Your destiny that will lead the Federation into a new and shining era of peace and acceptance."

"Me lead an era of peace and acceptance for the Federation? Are you insane? I just joined Star fleet to please my mother, go find someone else!" He denied as he started backing up to where his quarters used to be.

"I cannot _find_ someone else because I am not looking I am merely a messenger, someone who is interested in the destiny and well being of the Galaxy," He said calmly. "But for now, young Romulan, this is all the time we have, but believe me, we will speak again. Good bye young Romulan."

"Wait you can't ju-" He was cut off as his vision faded to black but not before he caught a vision of Kilgharrah's full smile reveling sharp pointed teeth.

**§O§ **

Night time experiments were always rather calming when he was alone in the calm silence of his sick bay.

That silence of course is broken by the young science officer, stumbling into the room.

"Merlin, what is wrong? You look like you were just dragged through a Vulcan fire field." He exclaimed as he came over and grabbed Merlin's bare arm, dragging him over to a bio bed."What happened boy?"

"I woke up after this, this _really _strange dream, so I woke up and I was going to come over to see you, because well, um-"

"You don't trust real counselors."

"Well yes, but then my entire room it just turned into this white void, and there was this alien in it." Merlin whispered jumping up to sit cross legged on a bio bed.

"An alien? What did it look like?" Gaius asked as he looked at his Tricorder scans.

"Tall, about two and a half meters and he had these scales and big golden eyes." Merlin said scrubbing his eyes again. "I think he called himself a Draakoin."

"Draakoin? I haven't heard that name in a long time." Gaius said raising one of his eyebrows.

"You mean their real?" Merlin whispered to him shocked.

"They are a telepathic species; they were wiped out in an intergalactic war nearly a hundred and twenty years ago."

"Then how could one of talked to me? That doesn't make any sense."

"What did he say his name was?"

"Um, something weird like, Kilgharrah." Merlin said turning to Gaius.

"Well, it seems you were contacted by a survivor Merlin. The telepathic centers of your brain have been hyper stimulated. I think you should start visiting Gwen two times a week for more telepathy training, you no longer have Ra'Tol to shield your mind anymore." Gaius informed him as he clicked his Tricorder shut.

"Just my luck, Eh? I'm Science Officer for less than a day, and already I'm a victim of a telepathic war survivor."

**§O§ **

Author's notes

I'm very sorry for the long wait on this one! Thank you as well for the lovely reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Star Trek. I'm just crossing the beams.**

**Chapter Four: Areinnye'n-hnah!**

A very normal reaction for Arthur after a conversation with his father is to go beat something to a pulp. Normally only Morgana was able to deal with him, everyone else stayed a good distance away from him, but him in a stupid captain moment made her brief the new crew members and so she was not available for his show of aggression. So here he was beating a punching bag in the gym with a furious determination, like it had committed the worst of crimes possible.

"I was goin' to use that." Droned a slightly familiar tenor voice from behind him, causing him to spin around mid-punch. Arthur froze when he saw the skinny form of his new science officer all decked out in black Romulan fighting gear. This consisted of a loose fitting black top with silver cuffs and tight fitting black pants of the same materiel.

_Wow, Star Fleet uniforms don't really show of his legs that well – Wait? What am I thinking? _

"If you're not going to answer…" Merlin started to grin as Arthur just stood there, his fist still clinched in a fist.

"Oh no, Ensign, um carry on what you were going to do." Arthur nodded at Merlin before he turned back to his punching bag.

"Well, that might be a bit hard with you trying to kill the punching bag I was going to use."

"Are you always this snippy Ensign?" Arthur grumbled at the grinning Romulan in front of him.

"Only on Wednesdays', And please Sir, call me Merlin." Merlin smiled as he reached over to a cabinet grabbing hand pads, tying them onto his hands. "If you have no objections, I could use a sparring partner, if you're up to it?"

At any other time Arthur would be wary of initiating a sort of _fight _with a Romulan, but he was in one of his I-just-talked-to-my-dad moods, so he was feeling pretty confident.

"Of course Merlin, trough me some hand pads, would you." Arthur caught the tossed hands pads with a skilled hand. "And when were about to beat each other up you may call me Arthur."

"Yes Sir, Arthur." Merlin grinned in his normal cheeky way, before settling into a fighting position in front of Arthur. Arthur looked carefully at his stance, Merlin had not rested too much weight on his feet, a weak point maybe?

Who cares, just punch his face.

Lunging quickly to his legs with a swift kick only to be blocked as Merlin side stepped out of the way. Merlin keep staring into his eyes as the danced around each other in a circle, an old battle technique echoed in his head, _A man's intent is in his eyes_, well right now Merlin's blue eyes betrayed nothing.

_If I ever had doubts that he was half Romulan I don't have them anymore. _

"Arthur, there's an old Romulan battle motto, _ta krenn hrrau thi nei'rrh_, Be here in the battle, you are a thousand light years away." Merlin grinned, the Romulan words flowing from his mouth as easy as standard.

"Can you stop talking and just fight? I'm waiting for you to make the first move."

Apparently that was all the encouragement that Merlin needed, for he swung his leg out catching Arthur in the chest with his heel. Arthur jumped back up kicking Merlin in the side making him stumble slightly to the left. _Damn Romulan strength_, He thought bitterly.

"So, Merlin, I got a report from Doctor Magister-"

"Really Arthur he's so well known, we can call him Gaius."

"-Apparently it seems you had to report to him twice since you been on board, not a good track record so far."

"Well my first visit was just a lecture really, and the second one didn't really matter." Merlin mumbled striking a blow which Arthur side stepped.

"Oh, so that's why it said you had a _telepathic incident, Mer_lin." Arthur growled a he had to receive a swift kick to his shin that made him stumble backwards a step.

"Well, I've been having those since I was born really, do you not stalk your senior staff applicants before you choose them?" Merlin was hardly out of breath as he deflected two punches with his fore arms.

"No that's Morgana's job" Arthur scoffed making Merlin laugh. "And what do you mean by you've had these sort of telepathic attacks before?"

"My telepathic centers have always been stronger than any Romulans', so my mother took me to a Vulcan city where they diagnosed me with _namautauk irak-nahan_, exceeding telepathy. My mind constantly reaches out to other minds and communicates with them, I'm sorry if it caused you any worry." Merlin explained to him, stopping their fight.

"You're not going to be a liability are you?" Arthur glared into the blue eyes staring back at him.

"Well I'm not _expecting _to be." Merlin scoffed as if it was a joke and took off his hand pads.

"Well I'm not going to have a member of my crew that could be potentially being a threat to this crew."

"Well you aren't, Arthur I have been controlling this for my whole life, you don't have to worry about that." Merlin was starting to worry now realizing that Arthur was serious.

"Until I can be sure, I'm relieving you of duty until I have a better opinion then yours." Arthur said, walking out of the gym.

"Wait one second you _veruul_!" Merlin yelled, storming after Arthur. "You can't just remove me on the bases that I _might _be a liability because of my increased telepathy, that's just unfair, and also unprovoked because these events you're imagining haven't happened yet!"

"No, but the rest of my career is based on the outcome of this mission, my father's already watching my every move! And I can't have a Romulan with increased telepathic power on my ship, which even though it's just a possibility become a loose cannon, now this discussion is over, now I'm going to go talk to Star Fleet command, and if they do tell me you are fit for being my science officer, you will have you're duties restored to you. Do you understand?"

"_Areinnye'n-hnah!" _ Was the only response Arthur got as he watched the retreating back of his previous science officer, feeling in his stomach that curl of guilt, and that's when he knew he went overboard.

"Now, I know why only Morgana can handle me when I'm mad." Arthur sighed shaking his head, and went to go find Morgana.

**§O§ **

**Romulan Translations: **

ta krenn hrrau thi nei'rrh: Be here in the battle

veruul: Romulan Insult

Areinnye'n-hnah!: Go to Hell!

**Vulcan Translations: **

namautauk irak-nahan: Exceeding Telepathy

**AN: Oh goodness, I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! I'm sorry I had to make Arthur seem like, well a prat. But he does get better! Oh and yes, the Merthur, I was persuaded by silveralopix who said this had potential to become a good Merthur story, and well, you know what happens when you flatter a fan fiction writer. **

**BOOM.**

**MERTHUR STORY. **

**Please read and review **_**Mes Amours! **_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or Merlin; I'm just crossing the Beams. **

**Important Author's Announcement: Okay so I am so sorry that I haven't been posting new chapters! I have been taking this past month off to plan the story and also I had to study for my writing SOL's. But anyway I have this story planned out nicely, and I know where I'm going with it now (Previously I had just been writing off the top of my head) and I'm quite happy with it. I am also going to be continuing to write my other Merlin AU story Café d'Albion, And I also have a posting schedule for the two stories. So one week is Magic in our stars and the next week is Café d'Albion, does that sound okay to you guys? **

**Oh and one more thing- I need a Beta. So if any of you are willing, that would be fantastic, and also if you can tell me how to get a Beta on this website that would also be fantastic. On to the story!**

**Chapter Five: New Trust.**

Dress Uniforms, are horrible, Arthur decided as he turned around in front of his mirror. He had yet to talk to Morgana about his removal of Merlin from his position, and no, he was not afraid of telling her.

He just had to stop feeling bad first.

"Are you going to sulk in the front of the mirror all night? Because if you are, I'm going to have to cover for you, you know?" Morgana smirked walking into his quarters the doors closing behind her with a hiss. "Now, I'm assuming you have a good reason for calling me here? I do need to get ready as well."

"It's about Merlin." Arthur replied stiffly sitting down on his bed.

"Oh, Ensign Emrys is Merlin now? Got on a first name bases rather quickly, didn't we?" Morgana laughed, sitting down next to him.

"Morgana not-"

"But then again, he is rather attractive, isn't he? I mean lovely complexion, really, even I'm envious." Morgana laughed sitting down next to Arthur.

"Morgana that is really not why I have called you here." Arthur snarled at her smirking face.

"No, but I can tell, your loving step-sister can always tell." Morgana smiled patting his upper arm.

"Morgana, I want to talk to my first officer, not my loving step-sister." Arthur snapped at her again.

"Alright, Sir, what did you wish to discuss with me?" Morgana asked, slipping into her command easily, standing up and placing her hands behind her back, raising a black eyebrow at him.

"I relieved Mer- Ensign Emrys of duty." Arthur reveled to her, standing up again, pacing his quarters again.

"Excuse me?" Morgana snapped. "You relieved Merlin Emrys of duty? He is a complete and utter genius; do you know what it's going to look like when Star Fleet command hears about this? They're going to think you're or something!"

"Look I did it in a fit of well, rage, I learned something's about him, and did you know his telepathic level is at an unordinary high level?" Arthur gestured to the thin air around him.

"Oh, is it really?" Morgana drawled, her eyes starting to blaze. "So, was this dismissal due to the fact that he's done something wrong or are you creating events in your _head_?"

A brilliant shade of red started to crawl up Arthur's neck to his face. "Well- it was the latter- but- I'm the captain I need to be on alert for potentially dangerous situations!"

"There is a _difference _between being _careful _and being _paranoid_! And truthfully, I know you're a better officer then that! I know you can be better than this!" Morgana stood up her frustration radiating out into her normally calm voice. "We need- no _you_ need Emrys! All of the alien planets we're going to be going to, we're going to need a competent science officer! And you just lost ours." She stormed out of his quarters at that, leaving Arthur once again with the chocking curl of guilt in his gut again.

He stood up and paced again trying to rid himself of the feeling of white hot guilt surging through his veins. Why was Morgana blaming him? He had been protecting his crew against a _threat! _That's what Captains do for God's sake!

And what exactly what was that threat?

A nervous, fragile boy in a science officer's uniform? A Romulan- yes that was undeniable, but a threat to his crew? He had heard nothing bad about the boy- in fact most people seemed to praise his name from the roof tops. So why had Arthur gotten such a bad feeling about him? Emrys had been perfectly pleasant with Arthur- offering to spare with him even though the boy looked about as well trained in fighting as a new born kitten. So what in the Universe was wrong with Arthur?

On all of his other assignments he had been perfectly pleasant to all of his crew mates and now he was the captain of his own star ship and he was acting like a paranoid fool. His father trusted his crew- now his staff- more than Arthur was. His _father _for God's sake trusted batter than him at the moment. He had to make things right with Emrys- Merlin, he corrected himself, if he was going to trust him, he was going to have to use the boy's first name in his thoughts.

He came to a stop in the middle of his pace and turned his head to stare at the door- would it be too late to go talk to Merlin now? He probably was in his room performing some Romulan ritual in order send negative energy his way, which would eventually poison his spirit and slowly kill him.

Or something.

Well- Arthur could always talk to him after the banquet, the _Albion _wasn't scheduled to leave Dry Dock for at least three more days, or – if Lance got his way and convinced every one that he needed to check _everything_ before leaving, a week.

Yeah- plenty of time.

But he should do it now, Merlin deserved to be at the crew banquet down at star fleet command.

And damn it he was going to be down there- even if he didn't forgive Arthur.

**§O§ **

"-But seriously Gwen, can you believe the nerve of that guy? 'Potentially the best Captain since Kirk' my arse! That man is- is a paranoid _dollop head_!" Merlin raged as he paced through Gwen's quarters as she got ready for the banquet as well.

"Merlin- I don't think Dollop head is a word." Gwen said poking her head out of the bathroom to stare at her friend worriedly- Merlin's rage was practically visible.

"Would you like me to define it?" Merlin quipped as his pacing brought him close to her, before he turned sharply on his heel to walk the other way- that was her friend clumsy and awkward one moment, graceful and precise the next.

She sighed wearily, fussing with the strap on her tunic.

"Captain Arthur Pendragon." He burst out his face pacing never slowing down.

"Merlin- I'm sure Arthur had a perfectly good reason for relieving you of duty." Gwen stressed as she came out into the living room again to grab her boots.

"Reason? What's a reason?" Merlin scoffed sarcastically throwing his hands up in the air. "That man just decided to relieve me of duty on the whim that I posed a risk to the crew! I mean seriously what gave him that _stupid _idea? I know- I know, it's probably my fault I trusted him enough to tell him about my telepathy problem-"

"Not a problem." Gwen interjected.

"Whatever Gwen. Anyway, _I _was being perfectly pleasant to the man! I even offered to spare with him- even though I'm pretty much defenseless despite my strength. So you tell me Gwen, did he have a perfectly logical reason for sacking me?" Merlin demanded finally stopping his pacing and coming to a stop in front of Gwen.

"Well- um I mean-"Gwen stumbled, until she sighed and resigned herself to her friend's opinions, knowing it wouldn't work on her friend to go into counseling mode. "No Merlin he didn't- but" She continued seeing the look of triumph spread across Merlin's face. "He is under a great deal of stress, his father _is _Admiral Uther Pendragon and he has a lot of expectations to live up to. Also Merlin, this isn't like you, you know? You normally think the best of people; you've never thought this ill of someone for as long as I've known you. Are you sure _you _have a reason to be this angry at Arthur?"

Merlin flopped down on her bed at that- all fight draining from him in one sudden moment. "I- I don't know Gwen, I've been scared for ages about getting my first posting- I don't want to let down my Mum you know- and then this happens and it doesn't seem like I'm going to live up to her dreams of me- she always said I was special and I was going to do something great one day."

Gwen sighed and sat down next to Merlin on the bed rubbing his arm in a maternal fashion. "Merlin- I'm going to be honest with you. Things are going to be hard for you on this star ship, but I don't think just because things are going to be hard means that you should give up! Your brilliant, no Merlin you are." She stated firmly when she saw Merlin about to protest. "And you know what? Arthur's a fair man- a little bit rough, tough, save the world- but his a fair man. I can almost assure you that you still have your place here on the _Albion_- no one in their right mind would send you away. So what do you saw Merlin? Give me that brilliant smile of yours." And she was rewarded with one hasty grin that Merlin quickly smothered, just to annoy her of course.

"Of course your right Gwen- and you know what even if Arthur doesn't give me my post back, it's not like they can stick me on a garbage scow can they?" Merlin grinned again stepping out of room as Gwen started to laugh shaking her head at him.

**§O§ **

Arthur stood outside of Merlin quarter's door hand posed over the button that would open it, but he decided to just go the polite route- not the prat route and just override the door open- and ring the chime.

"Come in!" The pleasing tenor that was Merlin's voice called from inside and he opened the door stepping through not a little bit awkward.

Merlin turned wide blue eyes on him, surprise at seeing Arthur very clearly written all over his face, and Arthur used his momentary silence to observe the room around him. The walls where a normal grey for Federation star ships although Merlin had banners of Romulan and Vulcan symbols on two of the walls- the two walls that faced each other and Arthur couldn't help but find deeper meaning in that- as well as art scattered around on the walls as well. PADDS and real books also took up a lot of space as they were piled into stacks around the room.

"Um- Sir?" Merlin asked, getting concerned when Arthur just stood there, staring at his room. "Can I help you?"

"Were both off duty Merlin- Arthur's fine." Arthur corrected waving away the formality with on hand. "I would like to talk to you about- the erm- me removing you from duty."

Surprisingly Merlin didn't get angry at the mentioning of the event, he just nodded his head for Arthur to go on.

"Anyway- I talked to Morgana and well she confirmed my own suspicions." Arthur continued, trying to keep a leveled gaze into the science officer's very blue eyes but not succeeding very well.

"Suspicions?" Merlin's eyes -if it even possible- got even bigger at that word.

"That I had been- well that I had been a prat to you." Arthur resigned his face clearly spelling out how uncomfortable he was. "I based my decisions off of paranoia and well I hate to admit it, but I also based my decision off of prejudice. All my life I had been told that Romulans were bad- even when they were are ally we didn't trust them. And sub-consciously I decided that you couldn't be trusted either because of this strange thing with your telepathy. But I know now- after a lot of yelling by my first officer of course- I decided that your someone I can trust- I mean you were willing to put up with me when we were in the gym and I was in that foul mood. So if you're willing to forgive me, I want you to stay on the _Albion _as my Science Officer because we- I'm going to need you on our mission."

A slow smile played on Merlin's cupid bow lips stretching up and crinkling his eyes. "Alright."

"Alright?" Arthur started feeling even more uncomfortable after his emotional speech.

"I'll stay, and I suppose I'm going to have to wear that ridiculous dress uniform?" Merlin grinned.

"Well of course _Mer_lin. We can't have you going to the banquet in those deplorable jeans now can we? I mean really you dress like we're still in the 21st century." Arthur scoffed, opening on of the drawers' and pulling out the dress uniform, tossing it to Merlin.

"Prat." Merlin laughed voice slightly muffled by the fabric of the dress uniform as he pulled it off from where it landed on his head. He finally managed to disengage himself from the fabric, his black hair standing up in silky tuffs and spikes, blue eyes sparkling in mirth. Arthur just grinned back at him, thinking that right now, his Science officer was one of the strangest people he has ever met, and also how this was the start to a great friendship.

**§O§**

**AN: Oh goodness this one was a bit of a monster! Any way this chapter sort of ends the beginning of the story, the prologue of sorts and now we're going to get into the real story plot of sorts (Plot? What's a plot?) Any way please review and tell me what you think so far! (Read the announcement at the beginning of the story too!) I'm also going to start responding to all the reviews I get- although I do read all of them, So in the Author's Notes part I can answer questions about the story If you all want- Like I see some Authors do! **_**Go raibh maith agat Mo grá!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, though I've recently become a proud owner of the box sets! (I love my birthday.)**

**Chapter Six: Preoccupied by Dragons.**

The week before the _Albion _launched was not really that much of a hassle.

…_unless_ you define 'hassle'as Lance freaking out multiple times over the state of the warp core and requesting a crew member transfer. It had been quite a strange conversation between Arthur and Lance, seeing how Arthur had thought _Lance _was the one asking for a transfer.

"You want to _what_?" Arthur had spluttered into the cup of coffee he had been drinking when Lance had mentioned it.

"What? Oh, no, no, Arthur—I'm not the one that wants a transfer! I'm asking you to bring over a officer from another ship," Lance had quickly assured, waving a hand back and forth as if trying to shoo away the idea itself.

Arthur relaxed. "Well, it depends on who you want to be transferred over. I can't just go about stealing a captain's Chief Engineer, now can I?" Arthur raised a blonde eyebrow at Lance.

"Oh, no—he's not CEO of any starship. His name's William Percival, a lieutenant on the _USS Combatant_. I've worked with him on a project before. He's rather skilled, once you get past his—ah—personality." Lance coughed rubbing at his neck.

"Personality?" Arthur drawls, confusion thick in his voice.

"Well," Lance mumbled, never one to insult a person, "he's very—ah, _direct_."

Arthur sighed and rubbed at his eyes, realizing that would be all he was getting out of Lance. "Alright," he sighed. "I'll see what I can do. And what job would he be performing here? You're already our Chief Engineer, and I daresay we don't need another one."

"Well, I do need a second in command. You know how it is—can't always keep track of everything by yourself, can you? That _is _why you have Morgana, isn't it?" Lance grinned, a mischievous glint coming into his dark eyes.

"Now, _hang on_," Arthur said, affronted by the thought that he actually _needed _Morgana.

Lance beat a hasty retreat. "Thanks for getting Will for me!" he called as he walked quickly out of the ready room.

Arthur chuckled after Lance left, a grin spreading on his face. He tapped a button on his desk and sat back as his personal terminal rose up from the desk.

"Computer, search for all information on Lieutenant William Percival," he commanded, watching as the computer ran his search query. A picture of a young man popped up onto the screen, wearing the typical black and mustard yellow uniform of an engineer, and had brown hair that was a bit shaggy for an officer. He seemed to wear a perpetual scowl on his face as well.

Not knowing why Lance would ask for this person specifically, Arthur started to read the man's profile. His eyes scanned the text briefly—all that it really said was that for such an ordinary-looking man, William Percival seemed to possess rather impressive engineering skills.

Arthur stopped when he reached the man's personal background. "Grew up on a Vulcan Colony, did he? Hmm, Ealdor… Never heard of it," Arthur mused to himself. "Computer, present all data on the Vulcan Colony Ealdor."

The faint beeping of the Computer started in the background before it started to read off facts in its cold female voice. "The Vulcan Colony Ealdor. Established by the Vulcan Science academy and Starfleet Command on the M-class planet Essetir. Notable colonists include—Ra'Tol, Vulcan. Voss, Vulcan. Mary Percival, Human. William Percival, Human. Siboh, Vulcan. Matthew Farmer, Human. Hunith Emrys, Human—"

"Wait, stop." Arthur commanded, sitting up straighter when he heard the last name of his Science Officer. His eyebrows drew together, confused as to why someone had the same last name as his Science Officer, since it didn't seem to be that common. He shut down his computer, getting all the information he needed, but his curiosity still jabbed at the back of his mind.

"Computer, where is Ensign Emrys?" Arthur asked, finally giving in.

"Ensign Merlin Emrys is in Holodeck Two." The computer promptly responded. Arthur nodded, standing up and walking out of his ready room, heading to Holodeck Two.

:i:

Arthur found Merlin talking to a dragon.

Wait.

What?

Well, Arthur corrected himself. This was the Holodeck, so anything can happen. But really, who spends their free time talking to a holographic _dragon_?

"Am I…interrupting something?" Arthur asked, his eyebrows raising in an almost comical impersonation of Gaius. Merlin jumped at least two feet in the air, surprised at Arthur's sudden appearance.

"Computer, pause program," Merlin said quickly, and the dragon and everything around them became completely still. "Arthur? What are you doing here?"

"Are captains no longer allowed to spy on their science officers while said science officers play around in Holodecks with holographic dragons anymore?" Arthur grinned, obviously taking too much pleasure in Merlin's embarrassment.

"I wasn't playing!" Merlin said, affronted. "I was merely…researching."

"Researching?" Arthur asked, the smirk still plastered on his face. "Researching _what _exactly, _Mer_lin?"

Merlin shuffled around, his blue eyes flicking around, obviously trying to come up with some half-arsed lie. "I was researching mythical human lore that happened to _include _dragons."

Arthur smirked, something that suited his first officer much better. "What a man does in his free time is completely his business," he drawled, the tone he used full of insinuation. "But anyway, I have a question to ask you."

"What is it?" Merlin asked, thoughts of dragons flying out of his head.

"Have you ever heard of the Vulcan colony Ealdor?" Arthur inquired, walking over to a holographic stone and sitting down on it.

"Well, I better have, seeing as that's where I grew up," Merlin said, giving a short laugh and a smile before his expression grew confused again. "Why are you suddenly interested in Vulcan colonies?"

"Lance wants to bring in another engineer from the _Combattant _who grew up in Ealdor. Have you ever heard of William Percival?" Arthur asked.

Merlin's face suddenly light up in a giant smile. "You're bringing Will on board?"

"You know him then?" Arthur asked again.

"Course I do! Childhood friends and all that! But yeah, Will's great, and he's a pretty good engineer to." Merlin's grin—if it was even possible—grew wider as he talked about Will.

"Well, with all this support, how can I say no to Lance?" Arthur said with fake cheerfulness, standing up and pulling down his uniform top. "Well, I should go talk to the captain of the _Combatant _and tell them I'm stealing one of their engineers."

"Good luck," Merlin laughed, waiting until Arthur was out of the Holodeck before activating the program again.

:i:

Merlin fell asleep very easily that night, almost as soon as his head hit the pillow in fact. That, of course, should've warned Merlin something was amiss—seeing as how Merlin always had some trouble falling asleep.

His eyes snapped open after about ten minutes of actual sleeping, and he was greeted by the white void he had seen only a week ago.

"Young Romulan. It is nice to see you again," Kilgharrah laughed, still sitting on the same ornamental stone throne. "Though I'm sure that the feeling is not reciprocated."

"Well, yes. You could say that." Merlin grumbled, pulling himself off of the floor the void seemed to have.

"Young Romulan, there is no need for that. I simply wish to know what the _Albion _is doing, being stuck in this _place _does not exactly benefit me," Kilgharrah scolded with a thinly veiled disgust for his surroundings.

"Look, I really don't think I can just give you the _Albion_'splans. I mean, I'd love to help you out, but I think Arthur might not like it," Merlin mumbled, tugging on one of his ears.

"So your relationship with Arthur is once again on the right path?" Kilgharrah asked, golden eyes lighting up.

"Well yes I suppose— Wait! How did you know that if you claim to not knowing about the going ons of the _Albion_?" Merlin said, annoyed.

Kilgharrah laughed loudly, showing all of his sharp teeth. "This is last time I will be able to talk to you for awhile, young Romulan. Take care, will you?"

Merlin started to voice his objections to another cryptic warning, but the white void suddenly grew even brighter, and he awoke in his quarters again.

:i:

Arthur walked with controlled steps down the halls of Starfleet Command toward his father's office, where he would get the go-ahead to start the _Albion_'s mission. Walking through the offices doors, they closed behind them with a hiss as he nodded his head toward his father.

"Arthur, I've been expecting you," Uther nodded back in response. "I believe you have your report for me?"

"Yes, father." Arthur handed over the PADD, waiting patiently as his father's eyes scanned the report.

"You're requesting another engineer?" Uther asked, mild surprise leaking through. "Is Commander Du Lac not enough for you?"

"It was Commander Du Lac that requested Lieutenant Percival as his second-in-command." Arthur said, pursing his lips slightly at the tone his father spoke with.

"Alright. I will see to the necessary changes," Uther assured, typing something on another PADD. "And Arthur, I have one last thing to tell you before you leave—something for you to look out for."

"What is it, Father?" Arthur asked, letting confusion into his voice. Uther's eyes spoke of the graveness of the situation.

"The _USS Idirsholas _has been spotted again."

:i:

I got this one done early! YAY! Once again thank you to my lovely Beta Eris Dea Disaccordo who puts up with my grammar :)

Here are the Review Responses!

MagicLover: I'm glad I'm back too! Thank you for reviewing on this story and I'm glad you like it!

ForzaDelDestino: It's quite an experience to have one of your favorite fan fic writers tell you that you chapter was charming!(The experiance involes a squel and a concerned mother.) And the boys will be getting into quite a lot in outer space ;)

Please Read and Review—It makes me oh so very happy :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin; I'm just doing this for grins and giggles. **

**I forgot to thank my lovely beta Eris Dea Disaccordo on the last chapter of Working in the Café D'Albion, so double the thanks this time, because she puts up with my random questions and that takes courage. **

**Warning: I was told by a friend who read this Chapter that it's a bit freakier than anything else in this story so far, so yeah…I'm not really sorry.**

**Chapter Seven: The Sound of Voices.**

Arthur transported back to the _Albion _in a daze, it had taken all of his self control to actually walk out of his father's office with a semblance of control. He still remembered vividly every single story he had been told about the _Idirsholas_.

The _USS Idirsholas_ had been a science vessel—a Nova class if Arthur's memory served him right—a ship that was never meant to see combat. The ship had been perfectly normal, and no exciting news came from it.

The ship was not note-worthy in the slightest.

Then something happened to the senior staff. The last transmission from the _Idirsholas _had been a report stating that they were going to survey an M-Class planet labeled as _Medhir_. The survey was a routine mission, performed when a new M-Class planet had been discovered. The members of the away team had been the Captain, First Officer, and the Doctor, no one else had been allowed down on the planet . They had gone down to gather tri-corder readings and plant and soil specimen, and that had been that.

Five days later, strange things started happening on the ship.

According to the last received transmissions, the captain ordered adjustments and improvements to the weapons systems. A week later, the captain had all members of the away team proceed to Sickbay. None of the other crewmembers the crew knew what was going on—they simply assumed it was an impromptu meeting and left it at that.

Eventually, word got back to Starfleet headquarters that the _Idirsholas _was no longer responding to transmissions, and it was not responding to any orders given to it.

The _USS Mercia_,led by Captain Bayard, was sent to find it and—if the situation required it—bring it back to Earth by force.

The _Mercia _eventually found the _Idirsholas_,but the image that had popped up on the view screen was something that no one had ever guessed they would ever see.

The senior staff was all on the bridge, their skins pale, dry, and cracking. Their eyes held no color in them at all, seeming to swirl a bottomless black depth. Their Starfleet uniforms had been discarded in favor of black cloaks that swallowed their frames, and each inch of fabric seemed to absorb light before any sort of brightness could touch it.

The _Idirsholas _was hardly recognizable either. The metal seemed to have a greasy layer to it, making the silver metal look almost black, and the contrast between the darkened metal and the glow of the nacelles made them look like fire against the dark space around them.

Captain Bayard attempted to communicate with them and bring a peaceful resolution to the problem, but they were so unresponsive they might as well have been dead. The _Idirsholas _thenfired on the _Mercia _without any warning, usingmore fire-power then it should have possibly had. The _Mercia _managed to escape and limp back to Earth, and on Captain Bayard's initial report, the _Idirsholas _was immediately labeled a threat.

After the incident, the _Idirsholas _had disappeared, not to been seen for the next ten years.

And now, almost as soon the _Albion's _mission had begun, it reappeared for someone to find.

Arthur knew this was a horrible, _horrible _sign.

:i:

Captain Morgause Lothian was waiting. Perhaps rather impatiently, but she waited all the same. Her hands hovered over the crystals, her eyes keeping watch over the most important thing in the universe to her—a crack in Merlin Emrys's mental shield.

Her lips curled into a snarl as she thought about how close she had been to getting the Romulan onto her own ship—it would have made her life so much easier.

But no. The son of the tyrant Uther Pendragon had to get him. On a silver platter, the most powerful telepathic mind that had ever been in existence was given to a mere _boy_.

She needed that mind.

She _had _to have that mind.

She could do so _much _with that mind.

The crystals suddenly glowed, a white light shining out from the inside, and her lips turned up into a cold and deadly smile, one that promised nothing good.

The crack had appeared.

And tonight, she would serve the young Romulan a vision of Hell he had never dreamed of before.

:i:

Merlin didn't know what was happening.

He was in a cold steel room—a place that seemed to steal the heat from every person that entered and made them feel like their heart had just stopped.

There was a blonde woman in the room too. She was wearing a dress made of red silk that swished around her legs like a waterfall of blood. Her cold black-rimmed eyes stared directly at him, and yet she said nothing.

A man walked in a few seconds later. He was tall and garbed in black, his hands dripping with what looked like fresh blood. That he made no move to wipe his hands off was intimidating, but could not compare to his dark eyes. His soulless gaze met the women's brown stare, and his lips stretched up into a grin that revealed yellowing and cracked teeth.

The woman gave an equally cold smile to match. She opened her mouth as though to speak, but all that came out were sharp screeches and yells that pierced painfully into Merlin's ears, making him scream and drop to his knees, pressing his hands to his ears to block out the sound. The woman stopped talking, and the empty silence was a blessing to Merlin as he removed his shaking hands from his ears and his breath came in sharp pants. Then the man talked and his voice was worse.

It was like a raging fire in Merlin's mind when the man talked, his voice echoing across the walls like poison burning everything it came in contact with. The woman replied to whatever the man said in the same screeches and yells as she had before, tearing even more wounds into Merlin's mind.

The man grinned another ruthless grin and whistled—a whistle that sounded blissfully normal—and suddenly two men dressed in the same black fabric dragged in a man dressed in black and red, his mouth and jaw swollen as blood flowed freely from his nose.

The man was Arthur.

Merlin stilled from where he had been kneeling, his lips wordlessly forming Arthur's name over and over again.

The woman's screeching voice started again, sending Merlin into more screams, but Arthur remained unaffected from her voice. In fact, the only change in facial expression was the stone-cold stubbornness that swept into Arthur's blue eyes.

Arthur opened his mouth to respond to the woman and Merlin braced himself for another painful voice.

He was wrong. Arthur's voice sounded like confidence, and almost like fire, but not as harmful as the other man's own. It was like a camp fire or a candle's flame—a fire that was meant only to warm.

Whatever Arthur said had obviously made the woman angry—so angry that she pulled her hand back and brought it down sharply against Arthur's cheek, causing a bright red mark to spring up. The women started yelling and screaming that _awful _voice and looked more than a bit mad doing so.

The woman pulled a dagger out from the belt of one of the men who had yet to leave the room, raising it up and stabbing it sharply into Arthur's chest.

Merlin opened his mouth in a silent scream as Arthur's eyes blew open, the white of his eyes devouring the fading blue, the dagger still sticking out of his chest. Arthur's eyes turned to where Merlin was, and with the last breath his body possessed, he murmured Merlin's name in the fiery voice that quickly faded away into nothing.

Merlin shot up in bed, screaming for all he was worth.

:i:

The steady sound of beeping was what eventually returned Merlin to reality. He pried open his crusted and bleary eyes and looked around the sterilized white walls, realizing he was in Sickbay.

"Merlin!" Gaius's voice registered in his ears, and the old man quickly crossed over to the bio-bed where Merlin was laying.

"Wha' happened?" Merlin mumbled, forcing the words out through an abused and sore throat.

"The telepathic centers in your brain were over-stimulated far too quickly. We had to use the transporter to beam you here. You were screaming continuously and your brain nearly shut down on itself," Gaius informed him grimly, his old eyes flickering toward the top of the bio-bed, where the monitors showed Merlin's vitals.

"What could have stimulated me that much?" Merlin managed to croak out.

"I don't know, Merlin," Gaius sighed, sounding like all of his years were catching up to him. "We can only begin to guess—unless you can remember anything? Did you experience any visions of any kind?"

Merlin was suddenly assaulted by the memories of what he had seen, of the woman and that man and the terrible voices, and suddenly it was pouring out of his mouth.

"There was a woman," he began, catching Gaius's attention. "She was wearing this red dress and she was in this cold steel room that just sucked the warmth from anything and everything. A man walked in and his hands were red and dripping with blood but I don't think he knew it. And when they talked, they sounded like…like metal being ripped apart. Like poison and fire. Their voices burned me until I felt like I couldn't breathe at all." Merlin shuddered at the memory of it, and Gaius put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort the poor boy.

"It's all right, Merlin," Gaius told him. "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. What happened next?"

Merlin shook his head slightly, as if to clear himself of distress. "Two men dragged Arthur in. He was bruised and bleeding, like he'd been in a fight and lost. The woman spoke to him with that ugly voice, and when Arthur opened his mouth, I thought he'd sound the same. But he didn't. His voice wasn't bad at all, and he sounded…confident. It was like fire, but the good kind—the type that warmed you from your very core. The type you knew would never hurt you." Merlin bowed his head. "Whatever he said, the woman got so mad. She took a dagger from one of the men and just plunged it straight into Arthur's chest. My God, she killed him and I don't even know why. I didn't understand what they were saying."

Merlin paused, and the look of horrified realization etched itself on his face.

"Oh God, Gaius. What did I see?" he asked, his voice and throat raw from all the talking he had just did.

Gaius was silent though, his body ramrod straight and frozen, and his eyes holding a certain dread in them so deep Merlin couldn't begin to guess where it had come from.

"Gaius?"

Gaius blinked and turned his gaze on the young Romulan. "I don't know, Merlin. I just don't know."

Merlin didn't know either.

And he didn't know whether he _wanted_ to know.

**AN: **

Okay, so this took too long to get out and it's too short but I rather like this chapter. I did something unplanned with chapter seven and added some things I never thought I would actually write down. So if you can take the time and drop a little review of what you thought I'd be greatly thankful.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. I only write made up stories about it for no money. **

**A big thank you to my lovely Beta Eris for sticking with this story through its un-planed hiatus. And since I just finished editing this I have to say she deserves even more praise then this! I'm in her debt for making sure my return to this story didn't suck. Seriously my last words will be 'Well, at least Eris made sure my fanfiction didn't suck.' **

**AN: So, It's been awhile. Now I could start rattling off excuses and reasons why I haven't been posting but I'm not going to ramble. What I am going to say is this:**

**Sorry, and I hope that you lovely readers will come back and help me breathe some life into this story again.**

**Chapter Eight: The Feeling.**

Upon waking, the first thought that crossed Arthur's mind is 'Ugh.' Smacking his lips to get rid of the flavor of dead creature, he groaned in exertion as he stood and stumbled toward the bathroom for much-needed breath-fresheners.

'And perhaps a shower,' he realizes as he sees his horrid, deathly appearance. A tick developed under his eye as he saw his normally immaculate hair in disarray, and there were smudges under his eyes that were darker then Morgana and Merlin's hair.

And there it was—the reason why the normally immaculate captain looked like a…a _pig_.

He could still feel the lingering panic deep in his chest from when he was called down to the infirmary at 0100 hours by some frantic nurse—Godwin, was it? Yes, yes, Nurse Godwin, one of Gaius' better nurses. Arthur had, at first, just grumbled and told them to deal with it, but then Merlin's name came up and he had dropped everything to _run _to the infirmary.

_Arthur thought the worst, and he couldn't help but recall that Merlin had some-sort-of-condition-that-has-his-mind-reaching-out-to-others'-mind, and damn that Romulan for having such a weird quirk._

_Half. Half-Romulan._

What was _wrong _with him? He knew Morgana thought he had a crush on the Romulan, but there was no way that was true. Maybe he could just write it off as a sudden bond of friendship? No, no, that sounded like a lie, even in his own head. He knew his feelings for Merlin ran a little deeper than plain friendship, but he didn't know how to label it. And as captain, he had to keep these feeling under control. He needed to find a name for it, label it, and then tuck it away—and he better not act on it.

Arthur nodded to his reflection. He could sort this out—he _knew _he could.

It's what he always did.

:i:

Merlin jerked awake, his eyes opening instantly as he felt his senses snap into defense mode. The most poignant of sensations were the scratchiness of the blanket against his skin and the light from above that threatened to burn his eyes blind.

"Ah, Merlin, you grace us with your consciousness at last," Gaius said, whispering. Even whispering voices sounded unusually loud to Merlin and he shrunk away from Gaius'. "Oh yes," he added, "some new symptoms from your attack just settled in. It seems that while the telepathic center of your brain have gone back down to an acceptable level, your cerebral cortex has become over stimulated, it should go away in about an hour." Gaius smiled softly, nodding to Merlin before he walked back to his office.

And so Merlin lay very still in the bed for an hour, hoping that by avoiding movement, the symptoms would go away faster. They didn't, but eventually, the hour did pass, and Merlin felt better.

Still tired, but still also much better than he did when he awoke.

"Gaius?" he called, sitting up as he heard Gaius' chair scrape the floor. His still-slightly sensitive ears caught the old doctor's footsteps as he walked out of his office. "I feel better—do you think I can just nip back to my quarters and just sleep there?"

Gaius smiled, but his eyes held a familiar look of exasperation. "Yes, that's fine, I suppose. I want someone to walk you there though," he added quickly before Merlin could get up and waltz out of Sickbay with freedom-induced glee. "Wait here a moment while I call someone, and you can get some trousers and a shirt out of the replicator," he said, then pointed towardhis office. "You can change in there."

Merlin nodded and carefully pushed himself off the bed, gingerly feeling his limbs and appendages, which all seem to be in working order. Satisfied with his physical state, he walked over to the replicator and made himself something to wear, then ducked into Gaius' office to change. He had just walked back out of Gaius' office when the door to the infirmary slid open and revealed…

Will.

"_Will_?" Merlin said half-confused and half-ecstatic to see his old friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Haven't you heard? I just got transferred from the _Combatant_," Will grinned a shit-eating grin. "I guess your chief engineer just needed someone to hold his hand."

Merlin laughed, forgetting all about his physical woes in favor of focusing on the newest member of the _Albion_. "Oh, shut up, you arse. Now, what are you doing in the infirmary?"

"Well," Will drawled with a smug smirk on his face, "right now they need me to hold _your _hand." Merlin glared at him, and Will rolled his eyes. "Okay, _fine_. Gaius thought it be nice for you to see me, so he called me down and _requested _my assistance in getting your skinny arse to your room," Will said, his eyes glittering in mischief.

"Well, you better hurry up then, yeah?" Merlin replies, eyes glittering as well. Bidding Gaius, goodbye, they walked down the hall to the turbo lift, exchanging stories and updating the other about the on-goings in their lives, and to Merlin, it was as if no time had passed at all since when they'd last seen each other.

As if their friendship had been held in stasis—perfectly preserved until once again needed.

They reached Merlin's quarters, and the young Romulan reluctantly stopped. "Well, this is me," he said unnecessarily, gesturing to his door.

Will smiled, a soft smile that Merlin didn't see often, but one he knew was reserved for only Merlin and Will's mum.

"I missed you," Merlin blurted out suddenly.

"I missed you too," Will replies, scooping Merlin up in stronger arms.

"When I first got on board and heard you were in the infirmary I freaked," Will whispered fiercely. "You probably took five years off my life…ass."

"When did you start getting all sentimental?" Merlin commented in an attempt to lighten the mood, ignoring the surge of warmth he felt in his chest as Will's affections for him travelled through their touching skin. Being a touch telepath sometimes had its perks.

"Shut up, you're like the annoying little brother I had and never wanted," Will griped, pushing Merlin away.

Merlin grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did so. "Want to catch some more up at breakfast?"

"Today? It's a bit late for that don't you think?" Will said, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be daft," Merlin tells him, raising an eyebrow in retaliation. He felt that his pointed ones made more of an impression. "I meant tomorrow."

"I'm just teasing," Will grumbles good-naturedly. "I'll see you at 0830?"

"Sure," Merlin agreed. "That sounds good."

They stood there for awhile, Merlin bone-tired but happy to see his childhood friend, and Will relieved that Merlin was alive and semi-well. "I'll see you, then," Will said, finally waving and walking away.

Merlin shook his head and turned around, ready to open the door when out of his peripheral vision, he saw Arthur.

:i:

Arthur was going to go talk to Merlin.

Not about the feeling of course—he just had to tell him that instead of going to Wayne Three for a geological survey, they would instead be rendezvousing with the _Hydra_ for what?.

Then he saw the _hug_. Merlin was hugging this scruffy engineer like he was his long lost lover or something, and Arthur felt something cold and heavy settle in his chest.

Who the hell had the right to hug Merlin like that? …And why couldn't Arthur have that right?

NO. Arthur was _not_ acting on his feelings—he was filing them away and forgetting them. And he was pretty sure that wanting to go punch someone just for hugging Merlin counted as acting on feelings. Or rather, acting on _the _feeling.

He pressed down on that cold feeling with unbreakable control and ignored how it felt like his heart was ten pounds heavier. Looking at the hugging man and Merlin again, Arthur saw them finally pulling apart, and was finally able to catch a glimpse at the other man's face.

It was William Percival. Childhood friend, _indeed_. Obviously, they had been a bit more than just old chums.

William was walking away now, and before Arthur could stop himself, he made his way towards his science Officer.

"Merlin," Arthur said in what he was hoping was a cold, nicely detached voice.

"Oh, hello Arthur," Merlin smiled. Not as big as the smile that he had given to Will though, Arthur noted.

"I heard you were feeling better," Arthur states. Can't have him thinking that he was a complete robot, after all.

"Yes, I am." Merlin's smile stayed the same, but a hint of something foreign to Arthur crept into his eyes. "Is there anything you wanted to…talk about?"

Arthur shook himself mentally. What _was_ he doing, making small talk? This was no more than him telling his science officer that the geological survey would have to be rescheduled.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked, looking concerned.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that looked like you were about to have a stroke." Merlin's face was torn between confusion and concern.

"I'm fine." Arthur stood up straighter. "I'm just here to inform you that the geological survey to Wayne Three is going to have to be rescheduled."

"What? Why?"

"The _Hydra_ is in the sector and she would like to rendezvous with us, give us a 'welcome to the fleet,' so to speak," Arthur said.

Merlin nodded. "Oh, okay then. I'll inform the rest of the science department, if that's alright with you?"

"That's fine." Arthur nodded. "Set a new date for the survey and have on my desk tomorrow by 0300, alright?"

"Okay." Merlin gave a small smile and a nod turning around to his door again until his face lit up in curiosity, and he turned around again. "Arthur, who is the captain of the _Hydra_?"

Arthur raises an eyebrow, but answers. "Captain Morgause Lothian."


End file.
